Have a Merry Little Christmas
by Mouth of Lightnin
Summary: It’s Christmas! A time where the ninja can finally settle down... but to make things just a bit more exciting, they propose a secret Santa between the six. What happens when they have trouble finding a gift before Christmas Eve?
1. Deck the Halls

**Merry Christmas! (At least, we're getting there!)**

**For those of you following Origin Story, I am postponing updates until after December 30. For now, I'm focusing on this! Enjoy!**

**. . .**

The tree was gorgeous. Not a lot of flashy ornaments donned their fragrant balsam fir Christmas tree, but whatever they could find they put on it. It certainly wasn't boring, not in the slightest. Because of the intricate paper snowflakes, vividly-colored candy canes, and popcorn string that adorned the branches, it was a bright and colorful treat to the eyes.

But not to Sensei Wu. He said it was an eyesore.

The rest of the _Bounty _was decorated, as well. The halls were covered with red-and-green paper chains that hung gracefully from the ceiling, Kai and Nya's doing. Jay was responsible for most of the paper snowflakes, and Lloyd was practically his padawan in that domain of expertise. Cole and Zane had tangled with the lights, but they had only wrapped the tree and the ship's mast so far.

They were in the living room near the tree. Zane sat in their one comfy recliner, Kai was on the floor, Cole was sitting the wrong way in a foldable chair he stole from the kitchen, and Jay, Nya, and Lloyd were sitting hotdog-style next to each other on the couch. They were all staring at a small plastic cup on the ottoman.

On the inside held all six of their names on tiny pieces of paper. On the outside, written affectionately in black permanent marker by Lloyd, read, _'Secret Santa!'.  
_

"Welp, as usual, youngest first," Kai proposed, gesturing to the cup. Lloyd nodded and, as the youngest, reached in to snatch a piece of paper. After digging around for a while, he pulled out the chosen one and read it. Next went Nya, then Jay, then Kai, then Cole, and lastly, Zane.

Cole sagged his shoulders just slightly. _Zane_. Darn it, he wanted Jay, only because he had the best gift idea that would have worked perfectly in the secret Santa. Oh well, Zane wasn't horrible. The Nindroid was usually easy to pick gifts for.

Jay was a bit disappointed as well. Now that he and Nya were together, he was hoping to get her a gift for the secret Santa, but he didn't choose her. Besides, Kai wasn't _too_ bad... right?

Lloyd's messy handwriting graced Zane's slip of paper, and he was confident in this. He knew exactly what to get his little brother, because even though Lloyd had told them he didn't have a preference, he loved anything warm or fuzzy, especially on Christmas Eve.

Kai was pretty confident in his as well. In loopy cursive handwriting he could easily recognize spelled _Nya_. She was his sister, this was a piece of cake!

Nya, however, was less confident. She was at a loss at what to give Cole. To be completely honest, she wanted Jay.

Lloyd was unsure. _Jay_. C'mon, this was the brother of his that understood _gaming_ and _comics_ and _Starfarer_, he was better than this. He _had_ this.

As if on one accord, each teammate stuffed the piece of paper into the depths of their pockets, eyeing one another warily, as if they knew. Then, Cole left for his room, muttering something about sleep, and Zane went into the kitchen to plan breakfast for tomorrow, snuffing out a sugar cookie-scented candle on his way. Kai and Lloyd lingered in the living room for a while, before departing as well.

Jay smiled at Nya. She winked.

"Any idea of what you're getting your person?" Nya asked testingly. "Or are you at a loss like me?"

Jay bit his cheek. "Not sure yet. I'm sure I'll figure something out, though."

"Do you think we're allowed to tell?"

"I dunno. I got Kai."

"Really? I've got Cole."

They both blinked, then laughed. Neither one of them had gotten the other.

Jay sighed. "I'll get you a gift anyway."

Nya nodded. "Same. But I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to say that."

"Oh, what the heck. It's Christmas."

**. . .**

**Chapter 1/5, and they'll all be around this size. Sorry that it's so short, but I'm short on time so it evens it out. XD Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Or Hanukkah! Or whatever! **


	2. Sleigh Ride

**Second chapter! I may publish another one today, if I have the time, so keep your eyes open. **

**Thanks to GwenBrightly, Bookkeeper2004, and Seleine16 for reviewing! **

**. . .**

It was eight in the morning, an ungodly hour at that time of the holidays. Nya was getting up early to buy her presents before the shelves were empty. The sky was clear, the sun was bright, the air was crisp and chilly, and fresh, crunchy snow covered the ground. Nya, choosing the hard way, pulled her scarf just over her nose and decided to walk to the city.

First, she decided to check the thrift stores, because even though she's been saving money all year she still didn't have a lot. While she was there, she managed to find gifts for her brother and boyfriend, and even a few little things for the others in the group.

But... she still had no idea what to get for Cole.

Nya was getting so desperate, she pulled out her phone and called Jay. He already knew that she had gotten Cole, so she could trust him. Plus, those two were best friends, so he had to have _some _idea.

_"Hey, Nya. Whaddya need?" _his perky voice answered. Jay was always up and ready to go in the mornings, like her, which was something she admired.

"Hey," she replied. "Um... well, I'm out shopping, and I'm having trouble finding a gift for Cole." She examined a pair of used headphones, then shook her head when she remembered that Cole had already bought a new pair. The problem with their older brother was that he was content with everything he had, and that made it hard to find good gifts for him. "Do you have any ideas of what he might need?"

There was silence as Jay thought. _"I dunno, I'll have to ask him. Discreetly. So he doesn't suspect anything. But yeah, I'll do that. Speaking of, what about Kai? I'm having some trouble too."_

"Well, I saw that his phone case was missing. He probably broke it," Nya rolled her eyes, even though Jay couldn't see her. "Again."

"Alrighty. Thanks, see ya."

"Bye."

Nya hung up, then sighed. She was going to have a problem with this, wasn't she. At least, or so she hoped, her secret Santa was having less trouble.

**. . .**

Kai was panicking. He had _no _idea what to get his sister.

He had only browsed the still-busy Christmas stores before realizing that he was. Absolutely. Done for.

This was his _sister_, too! He should at least have _some _idea of what she wanted. But, Nya hadn't said a word about what she wanted all of December. What the heck was he going to get her?

**. . .**

Back at the _Bounty_, Cole was faring a little bit better.

He was, currently, searching for and stealing Zane's sewing supplies as inconspicuously as possible, dodging the mistletoe hanging over each doorway even though he was sure no one would show up. After looking up instructions on how to hand-sew an apron, he sat down cross-legged on his bottom bunk bed and began to sew.

_Maybe I should have started something a little bit easier, like hot pads, _Cole thought. But, this was what Zane needed, after his last apron had been burned in Kai's last— _ahem— _accident. _But, this is just an apron. I can do this._

**. . .**

It was late in the day, only four at the moment, but it was already beginning to get dark. Snow began to fall from miserably-looking gray clouds that hung from the sky. Lloyd was headed to the comic store, the sixth store he'd visited since noon.

He was going slowly, but he still didn't have much of a clue what he was going to give Jay. _Games _came to mind, because Jay loved games, any kind. But, he already owned pretty much every board or card or video game in existence, so Lloyd was out of luck.

_Movies _came to mind, but the only ones Jay would accept at this time of the year were cheesy Christmas romantic comedies, and the team already had plenty of _those_.

The only thing that he could really think of was the new _Starfarer _video game that just came out, but he hadn't seen much of that yet. All the shelves were already empty, the stores were out of stock.

He had spotted it once, in fact, but it was at a price he couldn't possibly afford. Not this Christmas, not the next, never. Lloyd sighed, deciding he was going to try again and find it tomorrow, whether luck wanted him to or not.

**. . .**

**Chapter 2/5. Thank you so much for reading! I'm beginning to worry that I won't finish in time, because... well, it _is _Christmas. So much to do! D: But anyways, I hope you all have a great weekend!**


	3. Jingle All the Way

**Hey y'all, I'm back. Not much to say, except I hope you enjoy!**

**. . .**

Nya tried again the next day. Christmas was only getting closer, and she wasn't sure whether to feel excited or anxious about it. Today she tried a small local shop run by a family of five, which was cheaper than the more popular stores and had everything you could need at the same time.

She was browsing an aisle still halfway full stocked with baked goods, when her phone rang. She pulled it out, and the caller ID read _Jay Walker_. Nya picked up instantly.

_"Um, I found out what Cole needed," _Jay replied. He sounded breathless, as if he had been running.

"Yeah?"

_"He said he needed a new set of calligraphy pens," _he continued. _"His old ones ran outta ink. Didn't say much else. You're lucky, he usually doesn't admit how much he likes art."_

"Really?" Nya was surprised. "Interesting."

Jay hummed _"Uh huh. Hey, I've gotta go. I'm suppos' ta meet my parents for Christmas right now, and I'm late. They've probably already called the police department."_

Nya laughed. "Okay. Thank you, goodbye."

She relaxed her shoulders. Finally, she had a plan.

**. . .**

Lloyd swore he'd been to every store in Ninjago City. And each time he saw the new _Starfarer _game, he couldn't pay for it. He even thought of bribing the customers into giving it to him at a lower price (as the Green Ninja, it would have been easy, too), but that would have been wrong.

It was almost two o' clock when he received a text from Zane, asking if he wanted to come to the _Bounty _to make peanut butter blossoms. Lloyd sighed. They hadn't baked cookies a ton that Christmas, this could be his chance.

He finally responded with a _Sure! _and headed back to the _Destiny's Bounty_. He needed a break, sure, but he was running out of time.

**. . .**

Cole took a good look at the sewing mess in front of him. _Weak stitching, uneven cuts... this is a nightmare. _He shook his head disappointedly.

He sighed, then picked all of it up to dump in the trash. He wasn't doing this.

**. . .**

_It's gotta be here, it's gotta be here, it's gotta be here..._

Kai scrambled around in Nya's bedroom, trying not to leave a mess but also trying to hurry at the same time. He needed to figure out what she wanted for Christmas, but it would have been too obvious to ask her head on.

Or... he was being stubborn.

Anyway, he needed to focus. Something to his left caught his eye, so he grabbed it, then grinned. _Aha_! A bright yellow sticky note, with the words "Christmas List" as the heading. But, only two things were on the list. He frowned.

"What are you doing in Nya's room?" someone asked. Kai froze.

Jay stood in the doorway, looking at Kai with an expression of both unapproval and suspicion. He looked as if he had been just passing through; he probably heard the commotion, and stopped in to check.

"N-nothing," Kai sputtered, standing up awkwardly. "It's my sister's room. I'm not _not _allowed in."

And this wasn't the first time he had been caught snooping in his sibling's quarters, either, but Jay's blue eyes narrowed to slits anyway. "_Suuuure_." He pointed two fingers at his eyes, and then to Kai. "I'm watching you."

Luckily, he walked off. Kai relaxed, letting out a breath he forgot he was holding in. Still red to the ears, he moved to leave, but he was stopped by Jay once again.

"By the way, what happened to your phone case?" he chirped, stepping _right _in front of Kai, and giving him a genuine heart attack.

Kai clutched his chest. _The little punk._

"I broke it," he replied bluntly. Standing up straight and brushing invisible dust off himself, he glared down at the blue ninja. "Do you need something? Or are you just tryin' to scare the tar outta me?"

Jay shook his head, then turned and walked away. "Nope."

Kai grunted. _Well, at least I have this_, he thought, examining the sticky note.

**. . .**

**Welp, that's that for ya! Hopefully I'll update again tomorrow. Right now, I'm gonna get some sleep. :)**


	4. Joy to the World

**Chapter 4! We're almost to Christmas! :D**

**Thank you, Seleine16, for being a faithful reviewer to this story. :) **

**. . .**

Cole had no idea what he was thinking before. He couldn't sew.

Eventually, he gave up, and turned to the stores for help. Luckily, they weren't _completely_ out of stock for Christmas, even if he was a little late. He managed to find and _buy _an apron that definitely suited Zane, and a book he vaguely remembered him asking for.

As Cole turned the corner and into the next aisle, headed for the checkout, he bumped into none other than Nya.

Her arms were full of stuff that she immediately shifted out of sight when she recognized him, all the while blushing furiously. She blurted out an apology before rushing away.

Cole chuckled. Fortunately for her, he didn't get the chance to see what was in her arms. Gifts, no doubt, he was not supposed to see. But, he wasn't surprised— a lot of his teammates tried to keep everything hidden in case word got out to the rest of the group. Those gifts might not have even been for him.

He continued to head to the checkout. Now, he was definitely ready for Christmas to come.

**. . .**

Kai's hands were buried deep inside the pockets of his maroon-colored snow coat, face hidden behind a burnt orange scarf, and usually spiked-up hair smothered under a cap. He hated winter. Not to be a Scrooge, or anything; he _loved _Christmas, but he was less enthusiastic about the cold.

He pulled out the sticky note he had nabbed from Nya's bedroom (which stuck to his glove with static), and read it again:

_Christmas List_

_-New scarf_

_-New tools_

Nothing that she wanted. Nothing special. Just some new things she needed to replace the old ones. Kai wasn't happy with this, but what else could he do?

Then he got an idea. _A horrible, awful... nope. _Sticking with it, he went to a special aisle in the store and bought exactly what his sister needed, along with a royal blue wool scarf (her favorite color), and a toolbox full of tools.

**. . .**

"I just can't find another good gift, one that he'll really like, y'know. I'm afraid to get him something else because I really want to get him something good, but I can't buy what I was hoping to buy him," Lloyd finished.

His friend hummed. She stirred her spoon around in her coffee, mixing in the creamer, before looking back up at him.

"Well, I'm not sure what to say," Maddy replied. "Except to just get him something from the heart. You know, something he'll really love just because _you _gave it to him."

Lloyd glanced at his friend from across the table. Madelyn was a friend he had gotten close to after the team split up about a year ago. He had met her when he made himself home in an apartment in Ninjago City— she was his neighbor. He hadn't seen her in so long, this was his chance to see her for the holidays. So, they chose to meet at a local café.

She had brunette hair that usually reached just past her shoulders in a loose ponytail behind her. Her banana yellow coat she had set on the bench next to her, but she left her earmuffs on. Her brown eyes were bright, like Lloyd's own green ones.

"You really think so?" he mumbled through the hand that held his head up.

Maddy nodded, turning back to her coffee. "Yup. I do it all the time with my siblings when I don't know what to get them. And you've known Jay for what, five years now? I dunno why you're worrying so much."

Lloyd laughed, cheeks a little bit pink despite himself. "Yeah. You're right."

**. . .**

"Shoo, shoo, get out of the living room!" Zane ordered, practically shoving Kai out the door. "We're _wrapping presents _for heaven's sake, you _shouldn't be here..._"

Kai grumbled, but left anyway. Nya followed him, and Jay followed her. Zane rubbed a tired hand over his face, then turned to Cole and Lloyd.

"It's your turn, I'm done," he said. "You two can figure it out together who will go first, in case one has to wrap a present for the other. Good luck," he muttered, walking out of the room himself.

Cole turned to Lloyd. "I've already wrapped yours, so you don't have to leave. I just have my secret Santa."

Lloyd nodded, pulling plastic bags out of the closet and dumping them on the table. "Me too."

Once they had their stuff out, they wrapped presents together. Lloyd's were, as always, wrapped in colorful paper and plenty of tape. And covered in ribbons. And topped with a bow.

"Did you get Zane?" the Green Ninja asked, upon seeing Cole's gift.

Cole nodded. "Is it good?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think he'll like it. What about mine?"

"Jay?" Cole asked, chuckling. "Yeah. He'll appreciate that."

Lloyd smiled, and continued to fold paper around the box. "Good. I'm happy with it."

**. . .**

**There you go! Once again, we're almost done!**


	5. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

**Ugh, finally. I was maybe hoping to post this yesterday, when it was ACTUALLY Christmas Eve, but that didn't happen. :( Ah, well.**

**Thank you Seleine16, ProfessorYeti, Bookkeeper2004, and GwenBrightly for reviewing! (And again, those of you favoriting and following!)**

**. . .**

"We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas..." Jay sang jovially as he placed his presents under the tree. As he continued to murmur the lyrics under his breath, he fluffed up the branches of their tree, which resulted in him nearly smashing one of the ornaments.

"Please, stop," Cole begged, looking seconds away from grabbing the blue ninja and throwing him off the ship.

It was Christmas Eve, and the group was getting antsy, so much that Lloyd decided they would open a few presents _before _Christmas morning— their secret Santa gifts. (Which was unheard of, according to Zane.)

Lloyd handed out the presents, and he handed Kai a gift wrapped in white paper with blue snowflakes, and a single silver ribbon around the middle. Kai traded with Lloyd the gift he wrapped for this one, and opened it.

Inside was a protective red smartphone cover with a little flame decal on the back, that Kai immediately appreciated, and a gift card to a coffee shop he and Nya liked to visit. _Jay was asking me about my case a while ago, maybe it was him_? Kai wondered.

Lloyd gave his to Jay, refusing eye contact, then passed the rest of the gifts out. His was wrapped in red paper with little green Christmas trees on it, all of different sizes, with gold ribbon draped around both ends, and with a golden bow where they met.

Jay ripped his open immediately, and got... a neck pillow?

It was an electric blue, covered in soft microfiber, and stuffed with squishy memory foam. He kept pressing it unconsciously, all the while wondering, _Who the heck came up with this_? Of course, he wasn't complaining. His neck had been injured mildly in their battle with the Oni, and since then he _had _been a bit uncomfortable... so he was glad whoever gave him this was so thoughtful.

Lloyd's was wrapped cleanly and simply in white paper with multi-colored lights imprinted on it. In his was a box of peppermint hot chocolate mixes, and one of those soft and fuzzy blankets the whole team knew he adored.

Zane's was simple also, wrapped in plain, green paper with no accessories, but inside was the book he had wished for, a book on ocean life, and an apron that said in bold letters on the front: "THIS IS WHAT AN AWESOME COOK LOOKS LIKE". He grinned in amusement.

Cole's was wrapped in gold paper with pretty white patterns on it, and a single white bow in the corner. Inside was exactly what he wanted (_I only told Jay... but Jay doesn't wrap presents this nicely_), a set of fancy calligraphy pens, and a packaged mini Bundt cake.

And Nya's, the last one, was in a bag with little ornaments on it and stuffed with red tissue paper. She pulled out a bulky wool scarf and a tool box (_That's why this was so heavy_, she thought dryly) first, then...

A plushie. A small, soft blue whale toy, with a wide smile on its tiny face. A little odd, but it was squishy and adorable, so she dubbed it acceptable. Slowly but surely, she was growing on it. She smiled. _What a Christmas_.

**. . .**

After dinner and a movie (_Home Alone_, Lloyd's favorite), Lloyd came up to Jay, who was sitting on the couch finishing a bowl of popcorn, propped by the neck pillow.

"Do you like it?" he asked shyly.

Jay turned to Lloyd, confused, then grinned. "It was you? Gosh, I woulda never guessed. Thanks, by the way."

The Green Ninja shifted his weight nervously. "Was— was it good? I was planning on getting you something else, but..."

Jay shook his head. "No, no! This is great! You know you don't have to get me something special. Besides, I never would've thought to get it for myself," he assured, squishing it fondly. "It's actually really comfy."

Lloyd smiled. "Thanks."

**. . .**

Cole was on a mission. He had been watching each ninja carefully, during and after the movie, guessing and quickly dismissing subjects.

_Who was my secret Santa_?

He figured that they would come and tell him eventually, but he was getting impatient. He had ruled out Lloyd, Jay, Zane, and Kai... so, he planned on asking Nya. Finally, he spotted her stuffing extra presents under the tree for tomorrow morning.

"Nya?"

He had apparently caught her off guard, by the way she jumped about fifteen feet in the air when he called her name.

"Cole! Hey, Cole," she replied quickly. "Did you like your gift?"

He nodded. "Yeah. S'nice. Did you get it for me?"

"Yup. How'd you guess?" she grinned.

"I thought about it," Cole responded, burying his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie. "Thanks for the pens. I really wanted those. And the cake," he smirked. "Well... Merry Christmas."

"You too."

**. . .**

**That about wraps it up! (Get it, wrap? :D) I really wanted to write more about the other's reactions to the gifts, but again, I didn't want to keep you all waiting for a late update.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys had a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading!**


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